


Imperfections

by Ivegothomework



Series: The Adventures of Penny Parker [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Female Peter Parker, Other, Penny Parker - Freeform, Peter Parker Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 06:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29220897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ivegothomework/pseuds/Ivegothomework
Summary: TW: Eating disorder/body image issues.Penny gets triggered when someone comments on her weight and goes down a path that she know she shouldn’t take.
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: The Adventures of Penny Parker [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2056404
Comments: 1
Kudos: 81





	Imperfections

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! So this was a little fix I wrote a while back, but didn’t get to publishing it until now. I just wanna put a TW here before you read. This fic contains unhealthy thoughts towards food and body perception. So if this is triggering please don’t read! <3

Penny hadn’t meant to fall down the road on what was on the verge to becoming a serious eating disorder. It was just something that started when they had to weigh themselves during PE.

“You’ve gained 6 pounds since last year, better watch out for those donuts.” He had joked and it had been like a knife to her heart. Was gaining 6 pounds in a year really that bad? That comment had stuck with her. As she got home she looked herself in the mirror, only seeing flaws. She held her hand on her stomach, grabbing the little fat that was there. Maybe Mr Simons was right, maybe she should lay off the junk food….or just food for that matter. Maybe she could just eat smaller portions, that would help her loose those 6 pounds rather quickly.

And that’s how it had started, by cutting down the sizes of her portions. Within a week she’d already lost those 6 pounds because of her fast metabolism. Penny looked down at the scale, and then in the mirror. Maybe whilst she was at it she could try and loose a few extra pounds. She was out there in a tight bodysuit after all, where everyone could see every single flaw on her body. So she continued, this time cutting out lunches at school.

“You aren’t gonna eat anything else?” Ned had asked her, concearned look on his face.

“Oh no, I had a really big breakfast, still feeling kinda full. The apple will do.” Penny told him and he shrugged, going back to his own food. As if that wasn’t enough, she decided that it would be a good idea to start training.

A week later, both Tony and Pepper had started to noticed differences in the young girls behavior. The way she was more easily irritated, ate smaller portions and said no to anything with sugar in it. Tony had been the first to notice the changes.

“Want a brownie?” Tony asked, holding out a plate full of brownies in front of her.

“Uh…no thanks, I’m good.” Penny told him and he raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“I’m sorry did I hear right? Did Penny Beatrice Parker just say no to brownies?!” Tony asked, shocked look on his face.

“Um yeah, I’m still kinda full from dinner.” Penny told him and he shrugged.

“Well, your loss. Even more for me.” He said put the plate back down, grabbing a brownie for himself. After that, Pepper had noticed a few of the warning signs. The excessive training, the eating smaller portions, skipping sweets.

“Where are you going?” Pepper asked as Penny made her way to the elevator.

“Going out for a jog.” Penny told her and Pepper furrowed her brows

“You’ve already been working out 4 days this week and doing all your patrols. Sweetheart I don’t think it’s a good idea that you keep going at that rate. It’s not healthy, your body needs time to rest.” Pepper tells her.

“I do rest, and I’m fine.” Penny tells her in a slightly snappy tone and enters the elevator before Pepper can say anything else. She hadn’t meant to be rude, it had just happened. In the three weeks since the whole thing had started it was when the excessive new behavior had started to effect her as Spider-Girl that it really hit Tony that something was off. F.R.I.D.A.Y had reported her vitals back to Tony, telling him how they’ve gotten significantly worse during the small period of time.

“It seems that she’s not able to keep up with her patrols like she used too. She’s frequently getting shortness of breath, her heart rate has decreased slightly. She’s even lost a sivere amount of weight in the last 3 weeks.” F.R.I.D.A.Y tells him.

“Wha-Why didn’t you tell me about this sooner?!” He asked panicked.

“Penny told me not to sir.” The AI answered and he sighed, of course she did.

“How much weight are we talking about here Fri?” He asked, worried about the answer.

“14 pounds sir.” She answered and his heart stopped. 14 pounds, in three weeks, that was alarming.

“ _Shit”_ he muttered under his breath. Was she sick? Or was this something else? God he hoped it wasn’t what he was thinking.

“Somethings going on with Penny.” Tony had said that night as they got ready for bed.

“I know, I noticed last week. I wanted to wait and see if it got better. But she’s still eating smaller portions. And then last week she started exercising like crazy.” Pepper says, eyes filled with tears at the thought of the girl she saw a as a daughter trying to starve herself.

“She’s lost 14 pounds in the last 3 weeks.” Tony added and her heart skipped a beat.

“14 pounds?? In three weeks? Is that even possible?” Pepper asked, worry evident in her voice.

“With her metabolism it is. That’s why it’s so important that she consumes the calories that is needed on a daily basis.” Tony tells her.

“We need to put a stop to this. I don’t know what’s gotten into her or why she’s doing this to herself. Do you think someone at acho said something, or someone on the internet commented on her body as Spider-Girl? Something must’ve triggered it.” Pepper says, getting under the covers and cuddling up against Tony.

“I don’t know, but we’ll talk to her tomorrow after school.” Tony says and Pepper nods as she strokes circles around his chest, where the reactor had once been.

“Don’t worry Pep, she’s gonna be fine. And if she doesn’t listen to us then we’ll take her to a specialist.” Tony says and she nods, trusting and hoping that he was right. She knew what it was like being a teenage girl and having a certain pressure to feel like you had to look a certain way.

So the next day when Penny got home from school they sat her down and carefully brought it up.

“Sweetheart, there’s something we need to talk to you about and I think you know what it is.” Pepper says and Pennys eyes widen, but quickly conceals it.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Penny says, fidgeting with her hands. Pepper sighs and grabs Pennys hands in hers.

“Sweetheart, I want you to tell us the truth. Have you been trying to loose weight by starving yourself?” Pepper asks and Penny pulls her hands back.

“No, o-of course not! That’s ridicolous, w-why would you think that?” Penny asks, trying to play it cool. They couldn’t find out, if they did they’d be pissed and worst of all, they would try and stop her.

“Penny we know you’re lying, F.R.I.D.A.Y told me you’ve been loosing weight and getting out of breath. And don’t think we haven’t noticed you decreasing your portion size during dinner, and all that running you do. Kid, I don’t think you understand how serious this is, even more so because of your sky high metabolism.” Tony tells her and Penny stands up.

“I’m not starving myself, and besides, it’s only a couple pounds. It’s nothing!” Penny yells.

“It’s 14 pounds in 3 weeks, that’s a huge amount!” Tony tells her and she crosses her arms.

“It’s not that much, you’re lying! If it were I wouldn’t— then I wouldn’t look like this!” Penny yells again, tears running down her face.

“Penny…” Pepper begins, standing up to wrap her arms around the girl.

“Did someone say something that triggered all this?” Pepper asks, stroking the girls hair. Penny let out another sob and she took that as a yes.

“Was it someone at school?” She asks and Penny nods, hiding her face in the crook of Pepper neck.

“Was it that Flash guy, cause I swear to god if that kid-“ Tony begins but Penny cuts him off.

“No, no, it wasn’t him.” Penny mumbles.

“Then who was it sweetheart?” Pepper asked, stroking away the tears on her cheek.

“The….the gym teacher.” Penny mumbles quietly.

“The gym teacher?? What did he say?” Pepper asks.

“When we had to get weighed, I’d gone up 6 pounds since last year. He said that I should ‘ _watch out for those donuts’._ A-And I know he was only joking but-“

“No, that is in no way okay. He crossed a line, you don’t say things like that to anyone. Especially not to kids, what the hell went through that guys head. I’m calling the school, making sure he gets fired and never works as a gym teacher again.” Tony tells her.

“No, Tony, please. It was just a joke.” Penny said, she didn’t know why she was defending him, the gym teacher had crossed a line and she knew that. She just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, not like she already had.  
  


“And look where it got you. I need you to understand something kid. What he did WAS wrong and out of line. You should never have to worry about your weight or how you look. Everyone looks different, what would the world be if everyone looked the same huh?” Tony said and Penny wiped away a tear.

“Come here kid.” He says, and she wraps her arms around him and he plants a kiss on top of her head.

”So do you think you can try and start eating again, and no more exercising. You get enough of that when your out swinging around queens and chasing bad guys.” Tony says and Penny chuckles.

“Yeah…I’ll try.” She says and he smiles.

“Good. Let’s start right now. I’m gonna offer you a brownie, and you’re gonna eat it. Capiche?” Tony asks and she nods.

“And there’s one more thing. No more Spider-Girl until your up at your normal weight.” Tony adds.

“But-“

“No buts, your health come first.” He says and she sighs.

“Yeah okay, I get it.” She says and Tony smiles and clasps her shoulders.

“Good, now let’s go get you that brownie.”


End file.
